Islandoftiki

Posted 30 March 2012 - 01:27 PM

Islandoftiki

Islandoftiki

Members

3,410 posts

Joined 13 Oct 2011

Kailua-Kona, HI

Ok, my new best friend in the whole world is Nick from Rose City Aquarium who scored me this free black mantis shrimp. I wasn't going to make this a mantis tank, but it looks like it's going to be! How exciting!

He'll be hanging out for the next couple days in my 7.5 gallon tank until I can move him over on Sunday (after I'm done stocking it with corals).

Islandoftiki

Posted 30 March 2012 - 05:22 PM

Islandoftiki

Islandoftiki

Members

3,410 posts

Joined 13 Oct 2011

Kailua-Kona, HI

Ok, so I took a little video of me feeding my mantis shrimp for the first time. He likes mysis shrimp!This is my emergency 7.5 gallon tank that is already cycled and has a small CUC. He'll go into the 2 gallon on Sunday.

Islandoftiki

Posted 01 April 2012 - 02:08 PM

Here we go. It's April 1st and we can start stocking. So my project for the day is to get this thing up and rolling!

Here's the Full Tank Shot from this morning prior to any stocking...

And the Full Equipment Shot:

With the last minute score of a jet black mantis shrimp (Haptosquilla glyptocercus), I had to do some modification of the rockscape to incorporate a mantis shrimp home. I picked up a hard plastic tube fitting from Home Depot and some epoxy so I could cover the tube in aragonite substrate to make it look a little more natural.

Here's the final product that has some live rock rubble glued to it to make a base for the original main rock that will go on top.

Top view:

Right now, I'm waiting for the glue and epoxy to set up. Stay tuned for updates!

Everything is chillin' in a bucked while I wait...

The mantis shrimp is hanging out in the 7.5 gallon. He came out of hiding to see what was going on about 1/2 hour ago and disappeared after a couple minutes. I almost got a picture of him!

Islandoftiki

Posted 01 April 2012 - 04:20 PM

Islandoftiki

Islandoftiki

Members

3,410 posts

Joined 13 Oct 2011

Kailua-Kona, HI

And here it is... I may make a few minor adjustments to the rockscape over the next couple days, but I want to let the corals settle down and heal up a little. The xenia just got fragged and it's not too happy, but who would be after getting cut in half and glued to a rock. I threw the Chemipure elite into the back chamber and some filter floss to help clear up the water and remove some of angry-coral chemical warfare agents. I did a 100% water change after messing with everything so much. They all look quite pissed off, but the palys and zoas are starting to open back up and the xenia is waving a little. I won't add the Mantis shrimp for a couple days to make sure the tank doesn't mini-cycle after all of the trauma.

Posted 04 April 2012 - 01:30 AM

Islandoftiki

Posted 04 April 2012 - 07:12 AM

Islandoftiki

Islandoftiki

Members

3,410 posts

Joined 13 Oct 2011

Kailua-Kona, HI

After all of that work to build him that little home, he hightails it to the back of the tank to hide behind the rockwork. LOL. He hasn't eaten for a couple days, I'll see if I can coax him into the tube in the next day or two. Either way, he's doing well with his transfer to the tank. He was a little pissed when I first netted him from the holding tank and put him in the pico. He sat there for a couple minutes with his head down punching the sand substrate. I'll post video later today of his little tantrum.

castiel

Posted 04 April 2012 - 04:11 PM

Islandoftiki

Posted 05 April 2012 - 07:54 PM

Islandoftiki

Islandoftiki

Members

3,410 posts

Joined 13 Oct 2011

Kailua-Kona, HI

The palys and zoas are starting to open up and the xenia is healing. The majanos are finding their favorite locations and keep moving around a little. The mantis has taken up permanent residence in the back of the tank behind the rockwork. I'll see if I can't coax him into his little home. I might try covering the front of the tank for a little while so he doesn't feel so exposed at the front.